I took a deep breath and settled into the free chair next to the cockpit doors, unable to take my eyes off of Fornax why was typing on a screen to pull up the stream.

I needed this mission to go well. I needed to have my crew back together again. I couldn’t deal with us not having Peggy and knowing that she was stuck with the Council, probably being beaten and starved.

“There we go!” Fornax exclaimed, swiping up on her screen and making the bay light up.

A multisided hologram beamed up from the floor, projecting an individual screen towards each of us.

“Wow, this tech is so cool!” Gem called from where she was reclining in her pod with the doors open.

I smiled at her reassuringly, noting the way her hand drifted to her stomach unconsciously. It was a leftover nervous tic she had from her injury. She’d told me that when she was anxious or worried, she still got phantom pain. Apparently, it wasn’t too bad, just a constant reminder of what happened. It sounded pretty bad to me but I knew she didn’t want me to be asking too many questions.

“Fighters, come in. Our Ground Team are gathered by the underground entrances and by the garage entrances. They are prepared to breach the building,” Aquila’s voice came over the speakers.

My gaze roamed the screen, taking in the situation. The screen was spilt into three. The first one showed a team of Guardians standing next to some huge metal doors. Sunlight was blinding and flared against the camera any time the person glanced behind them (which was often). Their head came up to look nervously at the camera pointing down at them.

“Is the camera by the garage switched off?” I asked Fornax.

“Eh, kind of. It’s playing a loop we’ve created. Soon, it’ll show a Guardian van approaching and they’ll open the doors for us,” she replied with a grin.

I nodded and looked back at the screen, glancing at the other two teams. They were both in darkened corridors, clearly deep underground. The sheer number of Guardians standing there made my heart flicker with hope.

“Ready?” Aquila prompted as Fornax typed quickly, pulling up the stream of the command room back on Freo.

There must have been a camera in the screen we normally watched the press conferences on because I could see the whole room.

Aquila sat confidently, her posture betraying her excitement. Andy’s eyes flickered into the camera and he smiled gently. I wasn’t sure if he meant it just for my crew but I felt some of my anxiety escape and I knew the rest of my crew would be comforted by him too. Andy’s presence was always comforting. He knew what he was doing. He knew the Council.

“Ready,” Fornax said with a grin.

“Okay, Ground Team, we are ready for you to breach the building.”

I gripped my seat, leaning forwards as the Guardians on the screens visibly tensed. On the screens showing the Guardians underground, two Guardians had approached the scanners and were typing on small devices rapidly.

“Ready?” one of the Guardians asked.

“Ready,” the Guardian on the other screen announced.

“Go!”

The Guardians at the scanners hit the button at the same time.

I leant forwards, expecting an explosion or something equally dramatic but instead, the underground doors just slid open at the same time the garage doors did.

A siren blared out over the speakers, deafeningly loud.

“What’s going on?” I asked over the noise, glancing at my crew before looking to Fornax for answers.

She shook her head, staring down at her screen and typing.

“They knew we were coming. They must have,” she muttered.

“What? What does that mean? Does it change the plan?”

My heart rate slowed and my head felt clear, like it always did before a battle. That familiar sensation of adrenaline slipping through my veins had started again. I was ready to fight. I felt strangely calm. I hadn’t had this feeling for a while. That’s why I could never settle down and live a quiet life, I’d missed it too much.

The Guardians on our screens filed into the building, illuminated by red throbbing light. I looked at the screen showing Freo.

Aquila was talking furiously, skilfully commanding the room. She was silent, obviously having muted the room, but I knew she was trying to find out what was going on and how to proceed. My eyes landed on Andy. He was still, watching the screen, a troubled look on his face. Elliot leant forwards and said something to him, his hand gently resting on Andy’s arm. An unhappy smile found its way onto Andy’s face.

Shit, this is bad, Gem thought.

“Aquila, does this change the plan? Do we need to intervene?” I asked, knowing that it should have been Fornax’s question but being unable to stop myself.

Aquila continued speaking rapidly to her team before unmuting herself.

“Stay where you are for now but prepare to approach if needed. We don’t know how they knew to expect us and we’ve lost eyes on some of our fighters inside. As far as we are aware, the Council were told there would be a bomb threat so have withdrawn. Fornax, the plan might have changed. Prepare your crew for landing on Nova, if needed.”

A slightly shaky breath slipped out of my mouth.

“Yes, ma’am,” Fornax replied.

Fornax’s eyes were distant as she quickly recalibrated our plan in her head

“I need to retrieve all of the weapons and prep. If we land on Nova, there will be a fight. Are you all prepared for what that means?” she asked, looking at our crew.

I knew what she was skirting around. She was asking if we were prepared to die. If my crew landed on Nova, that was a very real possibility.

“Yes,” I said first, strongly, needing my crew to hear my confidence.

I glanced at them. They didn’t look happy but they seemed determined. They knew what could happen too.

The rest of the answers were slightly less confident but still, they agreed.

“Okay. Aries, I need to go to the back where the weapons racks are. I need you to shout out what is happening. I want to know when they first encounter people and anytime one of our fighters falls.”

“Okay,” I answered quickly.

She nodded before diving out of the chair and through the holoscreens. I watched each screen carefully.

The Guardians were moving slowly through each corridor but they were all deserted. Red lights and blaring alarms accompanied them the entire way but there were no other Guardians. There was nothing.

“What is the procedure if there is a bomb threat in a Council building? Do they leave or what?” I asked, hoping Aquila would have the answer.

It was Andy who spoke though.

“There are panic rooms in every Council building. Multiple ones. At the first sign of trouble, the Councillors must retreat there with a handful of Guardians until they can guarantee safety, then they may leave. All other staff and visitors may enter the panic rooms, if there is space, but if not they are asked to evacuate the building,” he said calmly.

I nodded.

That explained why it was so empty. The Guardians who had entered from underground were creeping across the foyer. Every time I had seen it, either in person or in pictures, it was busy. It was always filled with people and noise. It was unsettling to see it empty apart from our fighters.

“And what about the prisoners?” I asked.

There was a pause.

“I believe they are left in their cells.”

Although that was horrible, it was promising. Hopefully, that meant that there would be no one guarding Peg and they’d be able to slip in and out.

“Aries, what’s happening?” Fornax called.

“They’re still alone! No other Guardians. Team Two and Three are in the foyer, approaching the stair and crew one are… In a corridor. I don’t know where,” I shouted back.

“Get my screen, get the map up!”

I grabbed her screen glancing at it uncertainly. There was no obvious button and I wasn’t sure what to type to do it. I tried just writing ‘map’ and nothing happened.

I looked up, meeting Cas’ eyes.

“I got it,” he said, his hands going to his harness to undo it.

“Wait,” I rushed over to him, handing him the screen and waiting anxiously whilst he typed.

“There. That should do it.”

I turned, glancing at the map that had appeared on the screen.

“They’re on the third floor!” I shouted, “Thanks.”

Cas handed the screen back with a gentle smile.

“Wait, third floor? Fuck! Are they approaching the Councillor’s rooms?” Fornax shouted.

I slipped back into my chair and scanned the map intently.

“Yeah!”

I recognised the plush corridor they’d just turned into. I dreamt of walking down it often but in my dreams, Harvey was always in his office. It lay empty in real life.

“Collect any screens you find along the way,” a Guardian on the stream announced.

“Update!”

“Team Two and Three are climbing the stairs!” I shouted back to Fornax.

The cameras showed them climbing an endless amount of stairs, their breath becoming slightly laboured.

“Clear,” team One announced.

“Team One say that floor three is clear,” I called.

“Yes!”

Fornax rushed towards me, her arms laden with guns and armour.

“Strap it to the walls and keep an eye on the screen,” she commanded before rushing back to the weapons racks near the door.

Do you need a hand? Cas asked.

I glanced at the pile of weapons before me.

Yeah, can you and Gem come help me with this? We’ll split them into stuff for each person so it’s easier if we need to gear up. Cory, keep an eye on the screen and tell me if I need to look.

Got it, Cory answered as Gem and Cas jumped out of their chairs.

We worked quickly and silently, glancing back at the screen often. Fornax had got us full armour suits as well as a selection of weapons each.

“Update!” she called once more.

I turned, my eyes scanning the screens quickly and trying to catch up.

“Two and Three are approaching the thirty-seventh floor where Peggy is being held, Team One are heading to the stairs too,” Cory called for me.

“Where are the panic rooms?” I asked, realising that I wasn’t sure where the dangerous areas of the Council building were.

“We don’t know. We know there is one on floor five and forty because we have Guardians in there, unsure on the others,” Andy replied.

“Seems dumb to have them so high off the ground. What if something levels the building?” Cas asked.

“The technology is very impressive. They’re extremely well protected and safe. The whole building could be destroyed and they’d either still be standing or you’d find them in the rubble later,”

I frowned and continued sorting the gear, finally almost finished.

A shout came from behind me, agonised and panicked. I span around, my eyes wide as I tried to see where it had come from.

The two teams in the stairs had fallen still. They were standing in the stairwell still, seemingly waiting to enter the thirty-seventh floor.

“What happened?” Fornax called, rushing towards us.

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to work it out.

A rush of gunfire came from behind the doors followed by a meaty thud.